'What's he supposed to do, knock him out?!' - Ange Postecoglou perplexed by furore around Ben White's 'sh*thousery' on Guglielmo Vicario in Arsenal win against Tottenham

White was directed to unsettle Tottenham's goalkeeper, Vicario, during set-pieces, especially in corners. The defender did a fine job of obstructing his movement and disrupting his ability to reach the ball which allowed his teammates to attack the deliveries more fiercely. As a result, both of Arsenal's first-half corner kicks resulted in goals – the first scored as an own goal by Pierre-Emile Højbjerg and the second a header by Kai Havertz, securing a 3-0 lead for the visitors at halftime. Despite White's repeated acts of sh*thousery, the referee, Michael Oliver, did not penalise him for any foul.

Postecoglou responded to the incidents by assigning Pape Sarr to closely mark White during Arsenal's subsequent corner kicks. This tactical adjustment aimed to neutralise White's disruptive presence and prevent further goals conceded by Tottenham - but was not enough to prevent a 3-2 loss against their eternal rivals.

When Postecoglou was asked if White had been cheating or practising dark arts he said: "It’s a strategy. You can label it but it’s a strategy. I’m not casting judgment. If people are going to think that’s going to give them an ­advantage or whatever … I don’t worry about that stuff. I just try to focus on building teams that win things.

“If it’s not going to be that then it’s going to be something else. I know it’s great theatre. Whether he [White] is trying to undo his glove, tickle his armpit or whatever … I don’t care. I try to get my players not to focus on that stuff. If you want to go down that ­avenue … what’s he [Vicario] ­supposed to do? Throw a punch and knock him out? Or say: ‘Please don’t touch me?’ What does that do? ­Seriously, we’re not in the schoolyard. To be honest, if I saw one of my players do it, I’d be saying: ‘Mate, seriously? Get the ball and play some football.’”

Postecoglou also expressed his bewilderment regarding the interpretation of fouls on goalkeepers, revealing that Tottenham sought clarification from the Professional Game Match Officials Limited [PGMOL] on the rules.

“I watched the Champions League tie between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid [on Tuesday] and there was a couple of times they went in on the keeper and it was a foul straight away,” Postecoglou said. “It is a weird one for me. You’re allowed to reach out [to the referees’ body]. We just wanted some clarity on what the actual position is on interference on the keeper. I’m ancient and I always thought that the keeper was a bit of a protected species. Maybe that’s shifted now and I missed the memo. Did I get clarity? No, not really.”

Tottenham's struggles in defending set pieces have been evident throughout the season, with the team conceding goals from 14 set pieces in the Premier League, including six from corners in their recent matches. However, Postecoglou remains unfazed by these challenges, drawing upon his experience in addressing defensive issues from his time at previous clubs.

"To quote Billy Joel: ‘You may be right, I may be crazy, but it’s maybe a lunatic you’re looking for,’” Postecoglou said. “Enough of you have done enough research on me to know this is not the first time I’ve been questioned about set pieces in my coaching career. Eventually, I will create a team that has success and it won’t be because of working on set pieces.”

As Tottenham prepares to face Chelsea in their upcoming Premier League fixture on Thursday evening, Postecoglou remains steadfast in his commitment to guiding the team to a Champions League spot. They are seven points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa but have two games in hand.